Messenger-signal and fire-alarm apparatus



No Model.) 2 Sheets Sheet 1.

J. J. ONEILL.

MESSENGER SIGNAL AND FIRE ALARM APPARATUS. No. 313,610. Patented Mar. 10, 1885.

WITNESS R (54,. 4. 4M W N, PETER5. Plmwuxh m hw. Washmglom D. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W J. J. ONEILL.

MESSENGER SIGNAL AND FIRE ALARM APPARATUS.

No. 313,610. Patented Mar. 10, 1885.

WITNESSES 1 f4. Pttthn, Pnow-umo m hur, Washington, D, c.

Usirren Srarns aren't @rrrcn.

JAMES J. ONEILL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MESSENGER-SIGNAL AND FIRE-ALARM APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 313,610, dated R IaICh 10, 1885.

Application filed April 23, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatl, JAMES J.'ONEILL, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Messenger-Signal and Fire-Alarm Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

In the districtmessenger-service system a closed circuit is usually employed, and there -is arranged in said circuit, at the central ofiice, a recording mechanism made operative by the breaking and making of said circuit, and at each of the signaling-stations there is arranged a signal-box through which the current is normally closed, but which, when operated, opens and closes the circuit the predetermined number of times. No provision is however made for enabling the person who pulls a signal'boX to determine whether or not his call has been received at the central office, and much valuable time is often wasted in awaiting the coming of a messenger-boy, who never arrives because of a rupture of the circuit, or by reason of either the signaling or receiving instrument being out of order.

The object of my invention, therefore, is to provide means whereby when a box is pulled the person pulling it can tell with certainty whether or not his call has been received at the central office, and to this end it consists in the addition of certain improved devices to the signaling-box whereby such object is accomplished, as, will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l represents a front elevation of the mechanism of an ordinary signal-box such as is now generally used inthe district-messenger service, my in- .vention being shown applied thereto; Fig. 2, a

similar view of the same, showing the parts in a different position. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, and Fig. 4 a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line so a: of Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference in thc several figures indicate the same parts.

As the general construction of the instru- (No model.)

ment shown does not differ from those in general and common use, I will simply refer by name to the several parts without entering into any detailed description thereof.

The letter A indicates the main shaft of the instrument, which has secured to its rear end the crank or handle B, and at its front end the arm 0, which arrests the rotation of the makeand-break wheel.

D E F G H represent the train of gearing; I, the actuatingspring; J, the pallet or escapement; K, the n1ake-and-break wheel; L, the contact-fingers for engaging with the makean d-break wheel.

r M is the metallic back plate upon which all the mechanism of the instrument is mounted.

When the crank or handle B is pulled downward in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, the shaft A is rotated, and the arm 0, at the frontthereof, is raised into the position shown by the dotted lines, Fig. 1, out of engagement with the stop-pin a of the make and break wheel, and upon the handle being then released the spring J, operating upon the train of gearing, causes the make and-break wheel to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1, until it has made one complete revolution, when it is arrested again by the arm 6, which has meanwhile descended to its former position. As the makeand-break wheel rotates, the contact-fingers L, which normally rest upon its portion 1), are caused to break contact a number of times in succession, depending upon the number of depressions or notches c 0 formed in the wheel, as shown.

In applying my in vent-ion to the instrument, Isecure to the metallic back Iplate, M, a metallic bracket, N, and mount upon this bracket an electroanagnet, O, and also a hinged or pivoted bar, 1?, carrying an armature, Q, for said electro-magnet O.

Upon the frame in which the gearing is mounted I mount a contact-arm, R, the sime being insulated from the frame, and arranged so that its upper end will normally support the pivoted bar P, which carries the armature.

On the stud or pin S, to which the spring is connected, I mount, so as to turn freely, an

arm or lever, T, the upper end of which is adapted when the lever is swung up to impinge against the armature Q and raise it, so as to bring it close to the poles of the electro-magnet, and carry its supportingbar out of engagement with the contact R, while the lower end of said bar or lever ,T

- is adapted to be operated upon by a cam, U,

preferably formed upon the hub of the makeand-break wheel K, as shown. The arm or lever T is preferably hung so that when not in engagement with the cam it will gravitate into the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and if it is desired to make its operation more positive, a spring may be applied to it, and relied upon-instead of gravity. One of the terminal wires, d, of the electro-magnet is connected to the bracket N, while the other terminal wire, e, is connected to abinding-post, f. The'contact-arm R is also connected by a wire, G, to the said binding-post f.

When the instrument is in normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, the line-circuit enters at binding-post h, passes thence by wired to a stop-arm, j, and thence through arm 0 and the other metallic parts of the mechanism to the back plate, M; thence through the bracket N to armature-bar P, to contact-arm It, to binding-post F, and thence out to line again. When, however, the box is pulled, as it is called, by the depression of the crank or handle B, the circuit-breaking wheel is set in moand the stop armj, thus causing the circuit to pass from arm j, through wire Z, through contact-fingers L to the circuit-breaking wheel,

and from thence through the metallic parts of the mechanism to the back plate and out by the path before described to the other bindingpost, f. As the make-and-break wheel moves around, the appropriate number of makes and breaks are effected by the co-operating contact-fingers L, and the signal is sent out to line. Just before the circuitbreaking wheel completes its revolution, the rotating cam U strikes the lower end of the pivoted lever T, and causes said lever to turn on its support and raise the armatureQ up in close proximity to, if not in actual contact with, the poles of the electro-magnet, thereby causing the armaturesupporting bar P to be moved out of engagement with the contact-arm R, which had previously supported it. Immediately upon the breaking of the contact between the arm P and the contact-arm R the current, being no longer able to traverse that path, proceeds from the bracket N, through the terminal wire d, into the coils of the electro-magnet and out again through the terminal wire 6 to the binding-postf, and thence to line. As soon as the lever T has performed its function of raising the armature and its bar, it drops back into its normal position; but the armature remains elevated by reason of the attraction of the core of the electro-magnet due to the continued passage of the current through the coils of such magnet. As soon as the operator at the central office is apprised of the call, he momentarily breaks the line-circuit by means of an actuating push-button, and

this breakage of the circuit, by producing a cessation of the current through the electromagnet of the calling-instrument, causes the armature of such electro-magnet to be released and again dropped till its supporting-bar P again comes in contact with the contact-arm R, thus establishing the circuit through the calling-instrument by the normal path.

It is obvious that, if, when the box is pulled, the armature is not attract-ed and held by the electro-magnet, the line-circuit is either ruptured or out of order, or the instrument is out of. order and the operator is apprised at once of the futility of again calling until the defect is remedied.

For the purpose of enabling the operator to readily tell whether or not the armature is held up when raised, I preferably connect to the armature supporting the bar P a light bar, to, carrying at its outer extremity a suitable indicating ball or plate, colored, if necessary, to render it more conspicuous, or coated with luminous paint for night service. This ball or plate when the armature is raised is adapted to project through the casing of the instrument. After a call, when it remains raised for awhile and then drops, it is evidence that the call has been duly received; otherwise, that the call has not been received.

While I have for convenience shown my invention applied to one of the most ordinary forms of messenger-service call-boxes, it is evident that it may be applied to other forms of boxes without exercising anything more than mere mechanical skill in the application.

It is also evident that myinvention is adapted to fire-alarm-signaling instruments,and, in fact, anywhere where it is desired to know with certainty whether or not a signal sent out over an electric circuit has been'received at its desired destination.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, substantially as described, of a signaling mechanism connected to a line-circuit, an electro-magnet in a shuntcircuit having the part bearing its armature interposed to form part of the line-circuit, and a device, substantially such as described,

.operated by the signaling mechanism,and actuating the armature,to direct the current from the line-circuit through the shunt-circuit,and cause the electromagnet in the latter to hold the armature.

2. The combination, substantially as described, of a signaling mechanism connected to a line-circuit, an electromagnet in a shuntcircuit, having the part bearing its armature interposed to form part of the line-circuit, and a device, substantially such as described, operated by the signaling mechanism, and actuating the armature to divert the current IIO from the line-circuit through the shunt-circuit, and cause the electro-magnet in the latter to hold the armature, and a device for breaking the main-line circuit.

3. The combination, substantially as described,of the signaling mechanism connected to a linecircuit, an electro-magnet in a shuntcircuit, the armature, and its cooperating contact in the line-circuit, and the vibrating lever operated by signaling mechanism for raising the armature after the signal has been sent.

4:. The combination, substantially as described,of the signaling mechanism connected to the line-circuit, the electro-magnet in the shunt-circuit, the armature, and its cooperating contact in the line-circuit, the vibrating lever for raising the armature,and the cam of the signaling mechanism for operating said lever.

JAMES J. ONEILL.

Vt'itnesscs:

WV. 0. DRURY, MELVILLE CHURCH. 

